Chapter Text
Armin could barely open his eyes, coughing as he scanned the dimly lit room he occupied. His head throbbed as he took whatever energy he had left to slowly lift it. A rope was fastened around his hands, stuck behind the back of a chair. Armin almost laughed at how ironic the situation was for it seemed to be straight out of a mystery novel he had read the month before. He struggled to remember what had happened to get him in this situation.
Had the mission gone wrong? They had infiltrated Marley, carnage exploding before his own eyes. From his own actions. He followed orders, he did as he was told. It never took away the bile that rose in his throat or the invisible blood on his hands. He boarded the flying boat, speaking with Hange as they approached the spot to reconvene with the team.
Something did happen. He had left the boat, moving away from the original plan. Mikasa had rushed to the boat, explaining how Eren needed Armin for something, though he wouldn't tell her what. Armin almost hesitated, but his loyalty to a childhood friend took charge. He left the boat quickly, following Mikasa to Eren's location. Eren told her to help the other Scouts, leaving the two of them alone. Armin could barely recall what Eren said beyond an apology. Then it all went dark.
Armin wanted to scream, wondering where he was or what happened to his friends. He felt completely alone, trapped inside a small room with nothing but himself. Could he transform? Blow the building up and escape?
Quickly, he knew those were not options. From lack of information, there was no telling if innocent people were in the area or what damage he could create. He couldn't handle more blood on his hands.
A door creaked open as a face appeared. Long, dark hair shadowed the face of his best friend, Eren, as he stepped into the room slowly.
"Eren?" Armin croaked out, fighting the scratching in his throat. His hands shook even as he fought to show bravery in the confusion he faced.
"You're awake" Eren's dull voice spoke back, staring at him through hooded eyes. Armin looked around, noticing a cot with a rotting nightstand next to it. He could smell the dust in the room, illuminated only by the lantern burning on the nightstand. Armin slowly nodded, feeling too weak to communicate back.
"Are you thirsty?" Eren questioned. He steadied his shoulders almost as if waiting for Armin's onslaught of questioning. Armin simply nodded in response, hoping for anything to soothe the dryness. Eren took his time reaching Armin, almost as if to show a power imbalance, one Armin could not understand. What was his friend doing? A glass rose to his lips and Armin took slow sips, enjoying the cool feeling. As the cup released from his mouth, another cough escaped him.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Armin asked, staring intently into Eren's eyes. Eren did not dare look away, holding his gaze strongly.
"Somewhere safe". Armin nodded hestitantly, as more questions filled his mind. "Why am I tied up?" After no response from his friend, Armin's lips trembled. "Eren, you are scaring me. Why am I tied up?" Eren stared down at him, only moving his hand to flick hair out from his eyes.
Eren turned, moving a few paces back. Once more, he met Armin's eyes, though Eren's conveyed no emotion. "It's part of the plan" he explained, still giving nothing away to Armin. "You'll understand soon". Armin ducked under his intense gaze, fighting the urge to shiver.
"Please, Eren. Let me go" Armin begged, hoping to be anywhere but here. To be home. To watch Mikasa train in the courtyard, Levi's voice booming at the Scouts to continue cleaning the site, Hange's passion-filled eyes, Jean racing after Connie who was off to tell Sasha something he had learned. He missed his friends more in this moment than before. He had no idea if any of them were still alive after invading Marley.
"I can't. That isn't in the plan" Eren replied, eyes shifting to watch the flicker of the flame within the lantern. "Just... can you tell me the plan then? We got a letter, Eren. A small, half-assed letter requesting our help. We came. I came. Mikasa and I did it for you. Encouraged the mission for you" Armin began, tears welling in his eyes. "Please... we did this for you, I deserve to know what is going on, Eren". He begged. He hated begging, it made him feel weak.
Armin could almost laugh. He had the Colossal Titan, was strong, tall, powerful. Yet he had never felt so weak. At the hands of his best friend.
Eren barely could open his mouth to speak when the door creaked open again. Zeke strode in, power emitting off of his character. Armin met his eyes, staring as he paced to a stop beside Eren.
"Eren's friend! Good to see you awake," Zeke began, placing his hands together in front of him. Armin watched in confusion. Wasn't Levi's job to secure Zeke for Eren? Were they brought back? Was he home?
Worst of all, what did he do? Was his explosion so detrimental that he had to be tied up? Was he a risk to the comrades he cared so deeply for? Did he cause more damage than he thought?
"Thing is... Eren told you part of the plan. The other part, well, you are here to have some fun with that, aren't you kid!" Zeke laughed. Armin shifted his gaze between the brothers, still remaining lost. "You see, my brother and I, we couldn't let Marley walk free. They had to be taught a lesson. Your comrades made sure of that didn't they! Now, we teach them a lesson. Eren and I... we seek the power of controlling our own fates. Ensuring nobody can stop us, even your little friends who seemed apprehensive" Zeke explained, planting his arm around his brother's shoulders. Eren barely moved, his shoulders remaining stiff. "We need titan control, we need to control the Paradise government. We seek power to end this war and create our own world, our own war. And... well, we need your titan to do it".
Armin gulped. They wanted to attack Paradise? His home? Eren's home? "No" Armin expressed, shaking his head. His blonde bangs brushed his eyes, needing a trim as the shaved hair on the back of his neck grew longer as well. "You can't tell me I have to attack my home. I won't. What you guys want is to create another war, go against more than Marley, you want to control the world?"
"Too smart for your own good, kid. Eren warned me of that..." Zeke mumbled, turning to Eren who shrugged in response.
"Armin, you don't have a choice. You are with us willingly or not" Eren mused, a small smirk erupting. Armin looked on in horror at his friend... what had changed?
"Eren, that's our home. You can't destroy the lives of our friends, destroy our homeland. You promised!" Armin screamed, his throat growing more hoarse with each word. "You promised to keep everyone safe! You love us!" He felt a tear drip down his cheek, indicating his weakness. He wished for once, he could feel strong. "You won't hurt us, right?" Armin cried out. He thought of Mikasa, whose nightmares played of losing Eren. He seemed to be different, already gone. What did Eren do in his time away?
He watched as Zeke brought out a syringe from his coat pocket. "We thought as much" he said as he stepped closer to Armin. Armin could only watch in panic as the syringe was brought closer to his exposed arm, the sleeve cut off from his transformation. "What... what is that?" Armin whispered, staring at the deep blue serum locked inside.
"We had to convince you to be on our side Armin. I told you, willingly or not" Eren replied, watching as his brother brought the needle closer to Armin's forearm. He screamed for it to stop, for Eren to do something, that he would comply, they could talk about it, figure something out. Eren saw through the manipulation.
"Do it" Eren directed. Zeke punctured Armin's arm as he pushed the serum into his body. Armin screamed, the serum burning his arm as it flooded his system. He felt as though he was drowning, his brain felt like it was going to pulse out of his own skull. Spit dripped down his chin as he yelled, pain erupting throughout himself. This serum, whatever it was, whatever it did, was worse than being a mindless titan. He had never felt pain like this. With a final yelp, his world went dark.
"It's done" Zeke turned to Eren, removing the needle. Eren nodded, folding his arms out in front of him. "Good" Eren began, turning away from the slumped over figure of his best friend. "he's ours to control now".
--
Armin awoke in the same room, only this time he was on the cot. His hands were tied to a post, though not together, with one having the range to navigate to the nightstand. On there was a glass of water and a small piece of bread. He scoffed, though immediately downed the glass of water, feeling the freshness and coolness glide down his throat. His brain felt cloudy, almost as if he had been in a dream. Knowing where he was, he knew this wasn't a dream.
He glanced down at the rope against his arm, only to see a wire full of the same blue serum as before. Armin's eyes widened at the mystery liquid being injected into his body. He noticed the burning had stopped, though he had no idea what the effect had on him.
The door creaked open again, as the two brothers filled the room. "Armin, how are you feeling?" Eren asked, sliding a chair across the floor before plopping down in front of the cot. Armin scoffed, glaring at his friend. "What the hell is this Eren?" He gestured to the serum that flooded his body.
"It's to help you go willingly, Armin. I'm... I'm sorry" Eren began, chewing at his lip, casting his eyes downward. "it's the only way" he suggested. Armin shook his head in disbelief. This can't be the only way to do anything. He scanned over Zeke as the older man cleared his throat.
"I need you to listen to me Armin, and let me know how you feel" Zeke stated. He held out a notebook as his eyes drifted over the words on the page.
"Island devil" Zeke began, eyes flickering up to watch Armin's blue eyes widen. His face grew dark, darker than he expected. Armin felt his heart drop, hating the phrase that Marley had given his home. His friends. Himself. "That's me" Armin croaked out. His own eyes blinked in shock, not knowing what made him say that. He felt rage for the phrase, wanting to seek revenge. Where did this come from?
Zeke merely smiled, nodding in response. "Eldian" Zeke spoke. Armin felt blood rush to his ears, his face burning. "Me". Armin replied. It was true, he knew that much. He was an Eldian, or at least in Marlayean terms. The word filled him with more rage, something he hadn't felt before. What was happening to him?
"Island devil. Eldian" Zeke said again. Armin rolled his eyes in response, "you already said those words". He voice came out strong, ignoring the shaking of his hands against the tight ropes around them. He could feel the heat radiating from his body, his hands begging for release. This time, Eren smirked. His eyes met Armin's.
"Sea". With one word, Armin grunted out. His arms thrashed against the ropes, a rage consuming him so deep and primal that he felt nothing but hatred for the words being said. "Let me go!" He roared, fighting the ropes that seemed impossible to escape. Eren nodded, glancing down at the paper. "Freedom".
Armin couldn't breathe. Only short, hot breaths left his mouth as more thrashing occurred. He had no control over himself as this anger fueled his entire mind.
"Bomb". With one word, sparks erupted over his hands. Zeke's eyes widened, closing the book tightly. "Enough" he barked out at Eren, shaking his head. Armin saw red, only red. He felt himself burning in pain, hatred. He wanted revenge. He wanted to create pain.
This wasn't him. Yet, it felt all too normal. All too good.
"Armin, that's enough" Eren said, staring at the sparks coming from the blonde's hands. Immediately, he stopped. His mind clicked at anything Eren said. He wanted to follow Eren's orders, Zeke's orders, wanted to be loyal to only those people. He sat silently, watching as Eren and Zeke whispered among themselves.
"Is this enough for him to go back?" Zeke asked. Eren only nodded. He murmured about how they had him, that everything would work. Eren emphazied patience and how it would all work out if they waited for the time to be correct.
Armin felt cold wash over him, the blue serum continuing to pump into his veins. A voice at the back of his head screamed at him, telling himself he was a failure and weak. That he was failing his job, though he didn't know any other job now. He had a job. To follow orders.
"Armin, you will go home now. You won't talk about this to anyone. Not even Mikasa. Tell the Captain and the Commander you escaped capture. You will find the details, you are smart enough to make it up as you go. We will come for you soon, I promise." Eren began, moving over to a small bag full of clinking bottles. "you will proceed to take an injection of this serum daily. Don't let anyone see. If they do, tell them it's for your nightmares, that a doctor prescribed them to you. Keep it brief" Eren handed over the bag, full of blue vials and syringes. "don't fuck this up. We will see you soon, goodnight".
Armin's world went dark once again.